Passage
by Sandstorm626
Summary: When Sora passes on, he finds that scattered dreams and far off memories quickly fade in time.


A Kingdom Hearts version of the song Passage by Vienna Teng. I strongly suggest getting it. This isn't a songfic, technically, because there aren't any lyrics in it. I thought it would be better to just tell the fic instead of taking up extra space by using the lyrics. If you want them, Google them or download the song. Sorry to those who actually enjoy reading the lyrics, too, but that just isn't my cup of fan-fiction tea.

Description: When Sora passes on he finds that scattered dreams and far-off memories quickly fade in time.

Rated T because I don't think anything rated K would have a Disney/Square Enix character die. Besides that, there's angst, death and self-mutilation (cutting). So don't read if it'll, like, offend you or something, okay?

The Lovely Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, nor do I make any sort of profit off of this, however much I wish it to be so. And there shall be spoilers. Not too much, just references. Only to KH1 and KH2, though, so although it seems like I'm adding things from Final Mix or the third one, I'm not. It's just added thoughts from me and my imagination so don't get worked up about it, hm?

NOTE: The dashes, '---' indicate time skips. If it's confusing, I'm sorry.

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It finally happened. One wrong step, and the heartless and nobodies and the damned humans who took their side took my life. I'm dead now. Dead. No amount of light can give me my life back, my friends back, my family, my dreams.

I don't understand. I did everything I was supposed to. I defeated countless heartless, countless nobodies. I destroyed Ansem and all of the Organization XIII members. Then there's my home, my island. "Destiny Islands"? How sickly ironic. Want to hear my destiny?

I was a key bearer. Yes, only one of the numerous ones in the past. There have been others before me that have gone through the same twisted fate as me. And oh, what a fate it is! Our homes, our friends, our happiness, our light; all stripped away from us. They beat us down until there was nothing else to do with ourselves, so they shove words down our throats like 'doors to darkness,' 'kingdom hearts,' 'destiny,' and, my favorite of course, 'chosen _one_.' Finally, they give us an oversized key and tell us to save the world, to fight, to kill, and all the while lying to our faces and laughing behind our backs.

I chose to stay here, floating between worlds, just to see what will happen. I've lived my life, however short, playing by the rules and listening to people's lies, and now I want to see exactly what they think of me. Deaths have funny ways of waking inner feelings.

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Kairi, my friend, my love, hasn't said a word yet. It's been a few days and she's swimming in other's tears, fears, and confessions. So many have come to comfort her, she who hasn't spoken since she got news of what happened. More importantly, she hasn't cried for me. If I were capable of feeling anything except sheer hatred and anger, I'd probably want to cry at this. Cry for her so she won't have to.

Riku, too, hasn't cried, not like I expected him to. He needs to stay strong, for me, for him, for Kairi, whose turmoil beneath the surface has just started to become visible. He's done a lot of yelling, though. That's all he's been doing. Since the day it happened he's been running out in the middle of the night to swim across the endless sea to the island we played on and worked. It's only been a week, but he already made a carbon copy of the old raft we planned to use so long ago. He named it Excalibur, just for me. He swims further out to sea and throws a paupu fruit into the ocean as he screams into the night.

Meanwhile, King Mickey, Donald, Goofy and the rest feel bad, I can see it. Each day they search for my lost heart in the darkness in hopes that once recovered, I might come back. I think they should know better than to live in false hope, but who am I to talk? Each day, at the precise moment I died, they start a five-minute moment of silence in my name.

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It's been months now. Pluto was the one to find my heart, since they stopped searching at least three weeks ago. He fetched it from the darkness and handed it depressingly to King Mickey who all too happily placed it on display in the castle, in the Beast's rose's glass case next to the Cornerstone of Light; a museum display from hell. They didn't bother waiting to bring the new key blade bearer in; the worlds were still in danger, there was no time for remembrances. I knew I should have been buried with the key blade, though it's not as if the future bearer wouldn't be able to materialize it in their hand. Like I once did, like countless —hundreds, thousands, perhaps millions, who's to say?— before me did. I'm trying to think beyond the bitterness I feel towards the new key bearer, and I'm sincerely hoping they see through the lies and pass it on.

Kairi cries now. It fills me with true sadness and sorrow that I can't be there to comfort her, as she's done for me through the nightmares of my past. Although I'm happy to see she feels something for me, though she does more than that. Each day she sits, towels surrounding her, cuts deep within her beautiful flesh and cries while she watches the blood pool. I've been there for her through all the battles, I've kept her safe from everything before, and it's tearing me apart that even through all that, I can't even save her from herself now.

Kairi isn't the only one to start crying. Riku's through yelling now and watches the memories he has of us together. He replays anything he remembers about me. When we crawled through the crack in the rock when we were young and what drawings we etched the cavern wall with. He replays the time darkness took him over, and the time I fell to my knees when I finally found him. He laughs and cries as he remembers the first time I defeated him, when he remembers my smile, my hope, my light, my eyes. The strong one, always the strong one, is now crumbling before my eyes, and I can hardly bear watching every day. The promise of the next day always keeps me here, though.

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It's been years since I died, now, and watching everyone grow up and grow apart without me is horrifying to watch. Kairi stopped crying over me, and now just once and awhile brings out our old photo album and leafs through the pages, as she knows she can't remember the color of my eyes without staring at the pictures for hours. Lately, Riku has been visiting her often. Perhaps drawn to each other from of the tragedy that happened years ago, now.

Riku is still active in the fray. During battle, I notice he uses quite a bit of my past abilities. The strong, gifted, older friend, now draws his power from his past friend, me. Although he doesn't yell or cry anymore, he often wonders what I would have done when he contemplates his choices in life. Would I have let darkness consume me for power, or for my friends? I would have gladly in the past, but the state of the present has left me unsure.

Mickey never moved my heart from the basement. He isn't around anymore to clean it like he used to, or even to enchant brooms to do it. I'm actually surprised my heart hasn't been stolen by the heartless that overtook the castle. Mickey was quite careful to instruct the Cornerstone of Light to be moved to a new castle in a new world on a new gummi ship with his new key bearer and his new star knight and court magician. I've been staying at the castle lately, just staring at my heart in its dusty rose case. I've tried traveling to the other worlds I've visited, but they've all been overtaken, also. It seems Mickey and his new 'hero' has been busy in the many years I've been gone and evacuated the worlds.

I'm currently contemplating leaving or perhaps attempting to come back as a heartless. I have, or had, a strong heart and will, so I should be strong, right? The only downside I've thought of was that I'd be slain by the new key bearer. Cut down by the very weapon I once wielded. I wonder how many, if any, past key bearers I've killed. The life of a heartless seems like paradise compared to the life, or afterlife, of pain. I'm sure at least one key bearer has chosen that path. If so, was I the one to slay them? Key bearers have a terrible destiny, the lot of them, all dancing around like puppets in a vicious circle.

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It's been a few decades or so and I've finally decided I want to cross over. I'm sick of watching my friends age and deteriorate before my eyes as I sit here, alone in the darkness with no heart to guide me. I decide against checking up on my friends again, as seeing them might give me a reason against leaving. It's better leaving. It's better than staying here and watching my old friends avoiding my name like the plague. 'Better not bring up old skeletons,' I can almost hear them think. Oh, the irony, will it ever cease? I summon up the last of my power, the last act I'll ever do in what's left of this life. My power opens a door in the distance, the door to the light, I remember, from my past when Riku and I escaped the darkness of the nighttime beach long ago. It's been many, many years since I've seen light, so I'm blinded temporarily, but I don't need to be able to see what's on the other side of the door. Sometimes, believing is all we have, and I believe it's a better place than here, so I step forward. I walk slowly up to the powerful door I summoned.

Stepping into the doorway and stepping out of the shadow of my past life, I'm fully in the door now, though it still isn't closed yet. I don't know how long it will stay open, but still, I look behind me, hoping to find something, anything, to prove I was alive at once. Though when I turn, I see nothing to prove my existence. Instead, in the empty void I see the new key blade bearer fighting alongside his friends. I see my friends from the other worlds working hard for a better life. I see the heartless and nobodies swarming around in the old worlds they have already taken over. Finally, I see my love in the arms of my best friend, standing on the shore of our old island; their home now. Rings grace both their left ring fingers and glint in the perfect island sunset as they kiss.

And with that, the door closes.

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Read and review, please. Sorry for the ending, I couldn't help it.  
By the way, this is a oneshot. Which means I will not be adding to this (Sorry, Tom!). I'm sure it would just ruin the story, anyway, and I definitely wouldn't forgive myself for that.Anyway, I sincerely hope you enjoy. I definitely enjoyed writing it. Try to download/buy the song as soon as you can, because it's really a good one. Lullaby for a Stormy Night is another lovely song by Vienna Teng. I also strongly suggest it. Anyway, thanks for reading!


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